5K A DAY

Hey everyone,  I am going to do something that will push me way out of my comfort zone, in order to raise some funds for what has been one of the worst pandemics the world has ever experienced - COVID-19. Firstly, let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Laura, I am 29 years old and a student nurse. I am married and have 3 wonderful sons, the youngest being born in late February this year. I am admittedly quite out of shape, and unfit after having 2 children just a year apart, and I am determined to change this by setting myself this challenge whilst hopefully raising money to help those in need.  So what is the challenge?  I will be using my daily lock down exercise hour to run (well hopefully ) 5K everyday until the end of May. As I said before - I am quite unfit and overweight so I will complete 5K A DAY, even if I have to walk to start with. I will be uploading daily updates of my distance and times for my runs on my Facebook page and this page and I hope by the end of my challenge, I will be able to run a 5K distance in 30 minutes or less.  What will I be raising money for?  I would like to raise money to help those who have suffered a loss/bereavement of a loved one to COVID-19. If I could raise enough money, the end goal would be to donate money to be used to fund things that people may not be able to afford, such as memorials and funerals as well as counselling. A huge help to families and friends going through a bereavement is often counselling and I think coping with the shock of an unexpected loss for those who have lost someone to coronavirus, counselling should be available. I would like to help fund this as mental health in our country is so important for our overall holistic health, and I feel it may put a huge strain on our mental health teams across the UK.  Why am I doing it?  As a student nurse myself I am so upset that I am not able to help the NHS directly during this pandemic, as I am on maternity leave from university. The NHS has played a big part in my life both academically as a student and in my home life growing up with a mum who has worked her whole life as a nurse and who never stops learning. I owe a lot to the NHS they helped me survive meningitis at the age of 19 and I spent 6 months in total - in and out of a ward to be treated. I am a firm believer that without the staff and students we have on the front line our death toll for the coronavirus pandemic would be completely spiralling out of control. They are risking theirs, and their families lives on a daily basis to save our country from loosing even more loved ones to this virus and if I can help the teams that will be facing the aftermath of this awful virus, such as the mental health teams in supporting the berefed then I am doing my bit to help, whilst I can't be hands on during the crisis.  Thankyou so much for reading my story, hopefully you will follow my journey throughout this challenge.  I really hope you could take a few minutes to donate towards this cause, even if it's pennies. I really do appreciate it all, even the smallest of donations helps towards the bigger goal.  Let's hope I can smash my target and raise as much as possible for those who will really need our support.  Laura x